Environmental Impact studies for the Maya Train will be submitted for public consultation

The Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) of the Mayan Train, Section 5 South, was entered by the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (Fonatur), before the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), began a public consultation process. Interested parties may issue environmental mitigation opinions until June 17.

The above occurs hours after Semarnat announced the entry of the document. Those interested can consult the MIA by entering the project code 23QR2022V0020 at www.semarnat.gob.mx/gobmx/transparencia/constramite.html

It can be consulted at the Semarnat delegation at Kukulcán Boulevard, kilometer 4.8, in Cancún.

The technical document was submitted on May 17 to the General Directorate of Environmental Impact and Risk of Semarnat to begin the evaluation of the aforementioned Playa del Carmen-Tulum section, which is now provisionally suspended due to the indirect injunction trial 884 /2022, due to the lack of documents that support the start of work.

The public consultation is based on Semarnat in article 34 of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection and the Regulations on Environmental Impact and Risk that provide for said mechanisms to consult and express opinions on projects that have repercussions on ecosystems. 

The MIA warns of a severe adverse affectation for the karstic system due to the vibrations of the train during its operation; during site preparation and construction, with subsidence and collapse from the operation of heavy machinery; likewise, severely adverse for the fauna due to the fragmentation of its habitat during the preparation stage.

The document entered at the wrong time because the clearing began three months earlier, and it involved an arbitrary act of authority that led to the presentation of several indirect injunctions.

The project will cover 516 hectares, of which 405.9 correspond to right of way, 47.8 hectares to vehicular crossings, 23.9 hectares to stations in Playa del Carmen and Tulum, and 16.6 hectares to access roads. The remaining hectares will be for maintenance bases, camps, substations, and pedestrian walkways, among others.

TYT Newsroom